Rangers AGM: Ibrox chairman Douglas Park fears attacking duo Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos are nearing exit

The Ibrox club held their Annual General Meeting at the Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow on Tuesday.
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Rangers chairman Douglas Park believes the contract demands of Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent are too high for the club, as both players enter the final six months of their current deals.

The attacking pair are free to hold talks with other clubs when the January transfer window opens in just over three week’s time after the Ibrox club failed to make inroads in negotations.

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The Light Blues had been hopeful Colombian frontman Morelos and English winger Kent would agree to sign new contracts, but Park confessed to shareholders during yesterday’s AGM that the duo’s wage demands are not able to be met by the club.

Club 1872 will vote against the reappointment of Rangers chairman Douglas Park. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)Club 1872 will vote against the reappointment of Rangers chairman Douglas Park. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)
Club 1872 will vote against the reappointment of Rangers chairman Douglas Park. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

He said: “The board have tried to negotiate with those players. There comes a stage like in any negotiation, where you try to settle. If they terms that maybe people are looking for are unattainable, you sometimes have to accept you have done your best.”

In response, Gers sporting director Ross Wilson reaffirmed the club remain eager to keep hold of both players, but hinted that will only happy if Morelos and Kent decide to drop their salary expectations.

He admitted: “They are not being allowed to run their contracts down. We would absolutely like those two players to commit their futures to Rangers. However, for a player to sign a contract and stay here, there needs to be two parties willing to commit - the football club and the player.

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“You also need the agent, you sometimes need the wife, you sometimes need the mum and dad and everyone involved. Ryan and Alfredo are to different situations. I don’t think it is fair to go into why they are different, but they are different situations.

Rangers' Alfredo Morelos, left, and Ryan Kent are out of contract in the summer.Rangers' Alfredo Morelos, left, and Ryan Kent are out of contract in the summer.
Rangers' Alfredo Morelos, left, and Ryan Kent are out of contract in the summer.

“There is definitely a willingness from the club for the boys to stay. There is definitely a willingness from the manager for the two boys to be part of Rangers moving forward. Time will tell if we can get there.”

Wilson also defended the club’s stance when quizzed on why Rangers didn’t allow both players to leave in the summer. Porto remain to the only club to have tabled an offer for Morelos, while Premier League side Leeds United had a bit for Kent knocked back.

Wilson added: “To move people on you need two things to happen. You need a buyer and they need to commit to a level of finance that we think would be reflective and good for Rangers at that moment in time.

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“We have rejected one offer for both players. It was significant on the basis that the money for the player was good, but we thought they brought more value to our squad at that time, and we went on to become league champions in that season. In our minds, that justified our decision to be the right one.”

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